Is it worth the 100 bucks I paid for it at Walmart? I need to cut down on my tickets...
And if it's not worth it, how do I return a product that's already been opened?
Is it worth the 100 bucks I paid for it at Walmart? I need to cut down on my tickets...
And if it's not worth it, how do I return a product that's already been opened?
No, it's not worth it. Cobra products perform very inconsistently in independent tests, sometimes scoring acceptably and other times seemingly oblivious to radar at point-blank ranges. This kind of behavior is not what you'd want if your interest is in cutting down on tickets.
If you are in the budget detector market, the bare minimum should be the Whistler XTR-690 or Bel Vector V940. Both are in the $115-150 kind of range. These would be the best bang for the buck and compromise of good price and good detection.
As far as returning the product, I think WalMart should accept open-box returns on electronics, perhaps with a restocking fee. Simply tell them you were very unimpressed by the performance of this unit and it differs greatly from what it's advertised to do.
say it doesn't work, and as you've had such a problem with it, you'd simply like a refund and not an exchange, keep at it, eventually they'll give in
i used to work there , and YES return it
Check out how poorly a Cobra that is priced much higher than yours compares to other RDs on the market:
http://www.guysoflidar.com/august-20...ctor-test.html
If your budget is around $150 or less, I would personally suggest the Whistler Pro78 of Bel V955.
Walmart is easy to return product, you might even be able to return an empty box. 8)
Yeah, and keep the Cobra as a paperweight or a door stop.Originally Posted by CJR238
Come to think of it, save the box and return the cobra. :wink:Originally Posted by Retaliation
I bought the very same detector for the same price from the same place.
I used it for a week then found this forum and returned it and said it didn't work.
Send it in to the guys at WillItBlend.com and let them have a go at it. Who knows--maybe Cobras don't even blend well!
Originally Posted by mustangfu
No, it's not worth it. I just went through this very same thing over the past few weeks. Bought the same unit from Walmart to replace my failing Escort model expecting only reasonable performance (considering it was just a $100 unit). Other than LIDAR, that thing was useless, unless you are just looking for automatic door opener sensors. Thanks to the many recommendations here, I have since replaced the Cobra with a Whistler Pro-78 Rev. C (picked it up on Amazon.com for $132 and change). I couldn't be happier. This thing in my opinion outperforms anything I would expect in the sub-$200 class.
As far as returning an opened unit...not a problem at Walmart. I was honest and just told them the performance was sub-par, even for a unit in its price class, and only alerted me of every store with an automatic door. Typical of Walmart, since I had a receipt with the original packaging and was within a couple weeks of purchase, they promptly issued me a full refund. Radar detectors were not listed in their products excluded from normal return/exchange policy, so they are not subject to any restocking fees or special time limitations for return.
Do yourself a favor. Get rid of this unit, throw in a little extra and get the Pro-78, or one of the other Whistler or Beltronics models recommended to you in this thread. Most, if not all can be had for under $150 on Amazon (I only purchase new stock direct from Amazon, not any third party or private sellers). If you purchase a Beltronics model from Amazon, you may have a warranty issue (this may apply in any case other than purchasing directly from Beltronics, as they are quite vague as to who exactly is an authorized retailer), so the Whistler models may be your best bet. When you get the new unit, you will be amazed at the significant difference in performance, especially considering the minimal difference in price.
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